Method and means for lubricating bearings.



T. E. ALLEN. METHOD AND ME OR LUBRICATING BEARINGS.

APPLICA lLED OCT. 16, 1915., 11,170,213. Patented Feb.1, 1916.

UNEE

er E A NT o THOMAS E. ALLEN, OIE ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTSJ METHOD AND MEANS FOR LUBnIcATrnG BEARINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patellted'Feb. 1,1916.

Application filed October 16, 1915. Serial No. 56,320.

bricating Bearings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improve ments in methods and means for lubricating bearings, and more particularly to that class of bearings which are self-lubricating.

Prior to my invention it has been customary to pack the upper portion of a journal box with a fibrous material saturated with hard grease, yarn grease being a wellknown form of such material. \Vhen this is employed, it is found that, after a. time, the portion of the lubricating material, which rests directly against the shaft, becomes caked with a hard, impervious substance which prevents effective lubrication of the bearing. Lubricating oil, when supplied by various well-known means, requires more or less constant attention, and is a more expensive method of lubrication than that above referred to.

The object of my invention is to provide a method and means of lubrication, whereby the grease-saturated material may be effectively employed and the formation of an impervious coating thereon may be prevented, so that a bearing may be sufliciently lubricated for long periods, without attention, and at small expense. I accomplish these objects by providing a mass of greasesaturated material in one side of a bearing box casing and supplying a relatively small quantity of lubricating oil to the shaft at such a point that the oil is carried directly beneath the material before it is carried to the bearing.

An embodiment of means whereby the method above referred to, and hereinafter described, may be successfully performed, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a. cross-sectional View, taken at the line 11 of Fig. 2, of a bearing embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bearing.

The journal-box a is of well-known construction, andadapted to receive the lower half of a shaft b, which rests therein. A box or casing c is mounted 011 the upper side of the journal box, and incloses the upper original condition.

half of the shaft, or portion above the level ofgits axis, in awell-known manner, said casing being provided with a cover d.

According to my invention, an oil reservoir c is supported in one side of the casing c, above the shaft 6, and at the side thereof from which the'portion of the'shaft, above the level of its axis, moves. A piece of wicking 7", which. is approximately as wide as the length of the bearing, is connected to the upper edge of the reservoir 0, and depends from over its side, so that'its endportio-n f lies on'the uppermost portion of theshaft, and extends in the direction in which the shaft rotates, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. A series of feeding strings g are connected to the opposite end of" the wick, and extend down into the lubricating oil 7t,with which the reservoir 0 is partly filled. The space in the opposite half of the casing 0, beyond the end 7, of the wicking, or between the shaft and the opposite side of the casing c from that in which the reservoir c is located, is partly filled with yarngrease z, or other suitable fibrous material. saturated with a hard grease, so thatit rests directly on the shaft and is held in place thereon by the side of the casing 0, against which the shaft tends to carry it.

- In operation, the oil will be fed by the strings g to the wick f, and by the wick to the shaft, by capillary attraction, so that, as the shaft revolves, a very thin film of oil will be applied thereto, this method of lubrication, per 86, being well known. The oil thus applied to'the shaft is immediately carried by the shaft into contact with the grease-saturated material 2'. I have ascertained that, by thus furnishing a lubricating oil directly to the shaft-engaging surface of the grease-saturated material, before it passes into the bearing box, the oil acts to soften the grease at said surface, and to prevent the caking or the formationof an impervious surface on said material, so that the latter is constantly maintained in its As a result, the shaft will be effectively lubricated for long periods without attention, the amount of oil' which is supplied being much less than if it were employed alone, so that the abovedescribed method of lubrication is inexpensive, as well as effective; the effectiveness of oil-lubrication and the economy of the grease-saturated fiber lubrication being practically secured.

The above-described arrangement may be readily applied to any journal box of the type illustrated.

I claim l. The method of lubricating shafts Which consists in supporting a mass of fibrous material, saturated with hard-grease, on a portion of the surface of the shaft to be lubricated, above the level of its axis, and providing a constant supply of lubrieating oil to an adjacent portion of said surface above said level, so that the oil is carried directly beneath said material, by the shaft, as it rotates.

2. A self-lubricating bearing comprising a journal boX having a shaft resting therein, a casing inclcsing the portion of the shaft above the bearing, a fibrous, grease-saturated material, resting on the shaft, between the shaft and the side of the casing toward which the shaft turns, and means 1n the opposite side of the casing to supply lubri- Ccpies of this pat ent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressing the eating on to the surface of the shaft, above its axis, as it moves toward the packing.

3. A self-lubricating bearing comprising a journal boX having a shaft resting therein, a casing inclosin-g the portion of the shaft above the bearing, a fibrous, grease-saturated material resting on the shaft, between theshaft and the side of the casing toward which. the shaft turns, an oil reservoir located in the opposite side of the casing from said material, and a wick leading from said reservoir and resting on the shaft in proximity to said material in such a position, 1

with relation to the direction of rotation of the shaft, that the oil will be carried beneath said material before passing to the journal box.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

I THOMAS E. ALLEN.

W'itness:

L. H. HAMMAN.

Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

